I Will Love You Forever
by Originalhybridlover
Summary: A change to the finale where Stefan lives and gets that long human life with Caroline.
1. Chapter 1

Stefan couldn't believe his brother would think he was stupid enough not to be on vervain now that he was human or that he would let Damon sacrifice himself to take out Katherine. He couldn't let his brother die no matter what Damon said.

He kept his face blank and turned away as if Damon's compelling actually took hold but at the last second, he quickly withdrew a syringe of vervain that he had taken to keeping on him at all times just in case. You could never be too careful in Mystic Falls when it came to vampires. He snapped back around and caught Damon off guard, jamming the syringe into his brother's neck and pushing the vervain into his system.

"Stefan." Damon protested weakly, realizing what Stefan was going to do. "Don't do this."

Stefan lowered his brother to the ground as his eyes slid shut and he slipped unconscious. "Sorry brother, I can't let you sacrifice yourself." Not when Damon had become the brother he always known he was capable of being. The brother he grew up with and admired.

But he also couldn't break Caroline's heart by sacrificing himself either. When he had gotten her message it tore at his resolve to do what had to be done, to hear her sobs. Her sobs for him. After everything they'd been through together they deserved a chance to be happy just as much as Damon and Elena did.

Neither he nor Damon were dying today. Just the bitch who ruined their lives, who ruined them. He was going to make sure of it.

Katherine let out a groan as she came back again but Stefan was quick to seize her up in a captive hold, the blade held tightly to her throat. "Don't even think about it Katherine."

"Stefan Salvatore, always needing to save the day. I hope you said your goodbye's to your wife. How is little miss perfect. She finally got everything she ever wanted." Katherine sneered.

"Shut up!" He Growled. "Don't talk to me about Caroline! It's time that this ends. The black spot in the world that is your very existence ends here."

Katherine scoffed. "You won't do it. Your not capable of it now that you're human."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." He growled.

Heat flared up in the room as the sound of a roaring fire sounded, he dragged her to the edge of the room, just inches from the entrance.

"Stefan." Her voice wavered with fear as the cavern lit up with the roaring hot flames. "Stefan, please. Don't do this." She pleaded with desperation. "Please, Stefan."

Stefan could feel the heat from the flames roaring just inches in front of him. "Goodbye Katherine." He dragged the blade from her throat to her chest and plunge the blade into her heart.

Katherine gave a gasp of pain, her breath stuttering before her body with lifeless in his grip. Stefan checked her pulse making sure she was dead before giving her body a harsh shove into the flames, stumbling back a step as he did.

He waited with bated breath for the fire to die down and when it finally did and nothing was left, he stumbled back another step his breath leaving in a rush of relief as he sunk to the ground next to Damon's unconscious form.

The relief hit him so damn hard, he laughed breathless with it. He did it. Katherine was dead. And Damon and him were both still alive. They were still here.

He looked toward his brother's unconscious form, considering whether to wait for him to regain consciousness or try and get him out of here.

He would wait but if it took too long he would drag his brother out of here if he had to. He had to get back to Caroline. He needed to see her. Needed to let her know he was okay, that he was safe. That he was still here. And that he had every intention of spending the rest of his human life with her, showing her every single day just how much he loved her.

Damon gave a groan, pushing up slowly.

"About time. I was minutes away from dragging your ass out of here so I can go find my wife."

Damon's eyes jerked to the sound of his brother's voice, watching as Stefan pushed himself to his feet. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

Damon scrambled to his feet, eyes wide in shock and surprise. "Is Katherine dead?"

"Yeah, she's gone from our lives. For good this time.

"Then how are you still here?" Damon stared at his brother, when he had slowly lost consciousness because of the vervain he had thought that would be the last time he would see his brother.

"I killed Katherine than I shoved her body into the hell fire at the right moment." Stefan told him. "There was no reason for either of us to die."

Damon let his brother's words sink in, reaching out and grabbing Stefan by the shoulder, not only seeing his brother was still alive but feeling it as well. He tugged at Stefan, clasping his arms around him in relief as it hit him that he didn't lose his little brother. He was still here. They were both still here.

Stefan returned the embrace, clasping his arms around his brother as Damon's arms tightened around him briefly before he pulled back. "If you pull something like that again, Stefan, I will kill you myself only to find someway to bring you back and kill you again."

Stefan laughed hearing what Damon was really saying beneath the empty threat. "I love you, too, brother."

Damon clapped Stefan on the back before releasing him. "C'mon, let's get you back to your wife. I'm sure Carebear is on the edge of losing it."

Stefan smiled with the thought of seeing Caroline again and that he was going to get the chance to spend the remainder of his human life with her.

Grief tore at Caroline as Alaric and her drove back to Mystic Falls after receiving a call from Bonnie that it was safe. And Katherine was dead. Caroline couldn't bring herself to ask about Stefan unable to bear hearing that Stefan was gone.

A sob tore through Caroline's chest as she sat in the living room of her childhood home. Alaric was upstairs, getting the girls settled back in knowing she needed a moment to herself before putting on a happy face for their girls.

She scrambled for her phone in her pocket, and unlocked the screen, checking again for any last minute message Stefan might have sent her before sacrificing himself for his brother and Elena.

She just wanted to hear his voice one more time.

Her throat clogged with emotion, her eyes filled with unshed tears, she bit down on her lip to keep them from trembling as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

She just really needed to hear his voice one more time. She needed him to know how much she was always going to love him. God, she just needed, Stefan.

A rap on the front door sounded throughout the home and she started, sucking in a deep breath, wiping at her wet lashes before standing and moving to the door, not looking up until she pulled the door open to see the person who was the last person she thought she would ever get the chance to see again but the one she wanted to see most. "Stefan?" Her voice cracked with so many emotions. Disbelief, shock, fear and hope. So much hope.

"Hey, I'm sorry I don't know what to say other than I'm sorry for what I just put you through but I'm here." Stefan felt a wave of guilt hit him at her stricken face, the tears in her eyes.

"He's real, Carebear." Damon told her, taking a step back. "I'm gonna go check on Bon-Bon now." He said wanting to give them a moment alone plus he did need to go check on his favorite witch and best friend.

Caroline had barely noticed he was there before he had spoken and could barely bring herself to care when he vamp sped off. All she could focus on was Stefan standing in front of her. Her husband who she was sure was dead but was somehow still here and standing just in front of her.

"Caroline?" Stefan questioned when she just continued to stare at him in a state of shock.

Hearing the sound of his voice was the sweetest and best sound she heard in that moment. "Stefan?" Her voice trembled with emotion.

"I'm here, Caroline." Stefan struggled not to reach out and pull her against him.

A flood of emotion washed over Caroline. "Stefan." God, please don't let her be imagining things, her hand reached out, touching his cheeks and when she felt his skin beneath hers. Her breath left her in exhale of relief. He was real and he was right in front of her. "Stefan!" She threw her arms around him, her body colliding against his, burying her face into his shoulder.

Stefan instantly wrapped his arms around her his hands curving around her ribs, holding her so tightly against him he could feel her every curve. "It's okay."

"God, I was scared." Caroline pulled back, the tears in her eyes finally escaping trailing down her cheeks. "I thought you were dead. I thought you sacrificed yourself."

"I couldn't do that to you. Not again." Stefan used the pad of his thumb to wipe her tears from her cheeks. "Caroline, I want to spend every day of my human life with you and I will. The days when I sacrifice myself without thinking about how my choices are going to effect you are gone. I am done sacrificing myself."

"Good. You sacrificed so much for everyone, you shouldn't have to keep doing it. And I can't bear the thought of losing you."

"You won't have to. Not today. Or tomorrow." Stefan promised. Leaning his forehead against hers.

Caroline eyes slid closed, reveling in his presence and his body against hers.

"And I will love you forever." Stefan vowed, cupping the back of her neck.

Caroline's eyes slid open a breathless laugh leaving her. "You got my message."

"I did." Stefan smiled. "I love you Caroline Forbes. Today, tomorrow, a year from now, ten years from now, 60 years from now. I will love you with my dying breath and even then I'll never stop. You're the best thing to ever happen to me and I will always love you. I will love you till the end of time."

There was so much Caroline wanted to say, her heart bursting with love for this man but more than that she wanted to show him she felt exactly the same, she leaned up pressing her mouth to his in a loving kiss, pouring everything she was feeling into it.

Stefan's mouth moved with hers instantly, his arm banding around her waist while the other tangled in her hair, tilting her head back so he could deepened the kiss.

Their mouths moved slowly together, expressing how much they loved each other with their kiss and by how close and tightly they held each other.

Stefan pulled back, placing a chaste kiss to her lips. "We never discuss honeymoon plans." He murmured. "We should definitely get on that."

Caroline laughed happily, tugging his mouth back to hers, feeling his heart beating in his chest against her own. "God, I love you so much."

Stefan allowed himself to be encompassed in her love. Feeling happier than he has ever been in his long life. He could only hope the rest of his days were as happy as he was in this moment with the love of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay so I decided to continue this into a series of One-Shots throughout Stefan and Caroline's lives. They won't always be in order. This one is a little short but I wanted to get something up. Regardless I hope you like it.**

The smell of bacon filtered through Caroline's senses as her eyes fluttered open from her restful sleep, she swept her hand out across the bed, reaching across it but finding it empty.

Just weeks ago that would have sent her into a panic, the fear that he was dead still so vivid so real but she had time to adjust to come to terms with everything that happened. She no longer had to remind herself every time he wasn't in her sights that he was alive. That he made it back to her.

That him coming back wasn't some dream. It was real. He was real. He didn't sacrifice himself. He didn't die.

It had taken her time to really believe that.

When her hand brushed over his side of the bed she could feel his body heat still on the sheets, knowing he hadn't been gone to long and again the smell of breakfast filled the air and she knew she where she would find him.

She tossed the sheet that covered her bare body off, standing up and spotting Stefan's discarded shirt on the floor, she scooped it up, slipping it on, loving the way she drowned in the fabric, as it came down to her thighs.

Venturing from the room quietly, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen, smiling to herself when she saw him at the stove in only a pair of black sweats.

She moved forward pressing herself against his back, pressing a kiss to his right shoulder, her hands on his sides. "Something smells good."

"I hope so." Stefan flicked off the stove, turning around and slipping one of his arms around her waist. The other cupping her jaw, tilting her head back as he swooped down capturing her lips in a tender kiss, his lips moving slowly with hers, lingering.

Caroline smiled up at him as he pulled back, resting a hand on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart against her palm.

"I was hoping to surprise you with breakfast in bed." Stefan murmured, as he brushed her blonde hair away from her face before traveling his hand down her back wrapping both arms around her.

Caroline smiled, eyes filling with warmth as she reached up looping her arms around his neck. "As lovely as that sounds I'd be more than happy with just you in my bed."

"Our bed." Stefan corrected, hands rubbing circles into her lower back.

"Our bed." Caroline repeated, leaning up and kissing him, one of her hands curling around the back of his neck, finger's burying in his hair, her other hand sliding around his shoulder and down his chest, feeling the dips and planes of his torso. "Our bed that is empty and waiting for us." She whispered enticingly against his lips.

Stefan gave a laugh, placing a quick hard kiss to her lips. "Breakfast first."

Caroline pouted up at him. "Has are fire gone out already?" A teasing glint shining in her eyes. "A few weeks into the marriage and already we've lost our spark. Whatever will we-" she cut off with a shriek as Stefan hoisted her up, grasping her thighs and setting her down on the counter.

"Stefan!" She laughed as he captured her mouth in a heated kiss, stepping in between her legs, one hand on her hip the other tangled in her blonde hair.

Stefan's lips traveled from her mouth to the underside of her jaw, down her neck and back up, skimming over her earlobe. "We'll never lose our spark, Mrs. Salvatore."

Caroline felt warmth and love feel her chest, she turned her head, locking eyes with him with a smile. "Prove it, Mr. Salvatore."

Stefan grinned, his eyes shining with love, stepping away from her, looking over his shoulder to make sure he turned the stove off before scooping Caroline in his arms and making his way back to his bedroom, Caroline's delighted laughter feeling his ears, making his heart feel lighter than it had in years.

When Caroline woke up again it was to the bed dipping, she stretched her arms above her the bed sheet slipping down, she glanced over and found Stefan sliding into bed with a plate of food. "Little late for breakfast?" she glanced at the clock and saw it was a little after noon.

"Well, I got distracted." He trailed his eyes over her sheet clad body, his eyes darkening.

Caroline smiled, reaching for his discarded shirt that she had taken over at the end of the bed and slipping it on before turning back to him as he handed her a plate, of French toast scrabbled eggs and bacon.

She bit into the toast, humming at how good it was, out of the two of them Stefan was definitely the better cook. "I could get used to this."

"You better." Stefan leaned over kissing her sweetly. "I plan on making you breakfast every morning for a very, very long time."

"That sounds perfect." She cup his cheek, bringing his mouth back to hers, kissing him deeply, tasting rich coffee on his lips, she hummed, kissing him deeper.

Stefan nipped at her bottom lip before pulling back with a grin. "Eat your breakfast."

Caroline pouted but took another bite of her toast, watching as Stefan reached into the bedside table pulling out her notebook. "What are you looking at?"

"Your list of places to Honeymoon." Stefan grinned. "Italy? France? Bali? Barcelona? The Caribbean? And that's just to name a few. I thought we were narrowing down the list?"

"That _is_ the narrow down list. I can't decide which one though." She gave a shrug. "I would love to go to any of them I just can't pick which one." She tilted her head at him. "At this rate we'll never go on our honeymoon."

"We'll go." Stefan told her, pausing as an idea came to him. "We could go to all of them."

"Yeah, sure." Caroline laughed. "Let's just spend our honeymoon traveling."

"Experiencing the world together." Stefan corrected. "It's not like we can't afford it. Money won't be a problem. I could show you all my favorites cities, a new city almost every night, new adventures."

Caroline bit her lip looking at his earnest expression but she still hesitated. It wasn't that she didn't want to. It was just that she wasn't sure about spending so much time away from her girls.

Stefan reached out clasping her left hand in his, lifting it up and brushing his lips over her knuckles in a loving caress, he looked at her through his dark lashes.

"What about Lizzie and Josie?" She chewed on her bottom lip worriedly even as his lips brushed over her knuckles, causing goosebumps to travel up her arm and fought off a delighted shiver.

"You can skype whenever you want. We could even stop by Disney World, Alaric could bring them, we'll meet up. You can call them everyday. It'll only be for a few weeks, a month tops." He turned her hand around pressing a lingering kiss to the palm of her hand, his thumb rubbing against thee inside of her wrist.

"Okay." Caroline murmured.

"Okay?" Stefan wanted to make sure he heard her correctly. "You'll go with me."

Caroline smiled softly, cupping his jaw with her right hand. "I'd go anywhere with you, Stefan."

Stefan eyes shine with love and adoration, smiling brightly at her. He reached out taking her plate and setting it on the bedside table and tossing her list beside it before he surged forward, capturing her mouth in a kiss, not releasing her hand, as he leaned over her until her back was pressed against the mattress, interlacing her hand in his, their fingers intertwining together.

Caroline gave a happy laugh. "What about breakfast."

"Forget breakfast." He kissed her deeply and Caroline instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, as his lips traveled across the underside of her jaw.

"I can, I can definitely do that." She breathed as he sucked kisses down her throat, his free hand slipping beneath the shirt she wore wrapping around her rib.

"I love you." Stefan whispered reverently and proceeded to whispered the words into every inch of her skin like he was worshipping her.

Caroline had never felt so loved as she trailed her hands over his bare back, tipping her head back to expose her neck further to him. "I love you too, _so much_." She breathed losing herself in his love.

She thought she knew what love was supposed to be like but loving Stefan she realized this was what love was supposed to be and she wouldn't have it any other way.

 **A/N: Feel free to leave suggestions of things you might like to see. Also quick question, Smut or no smut?**


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